ST. LOUIS — The organization 'Rung for Women' is leading women into the lives they deserve.
"We provide training and education here on-site, so women can really advance or change careers," said Leslie Gill, president of Rung for Women.
The St. Louis communities they serve are the ones needing it the most.
"The majority of our women are participants of color and that is intentional by design because we know these pathways in fields where women are underrepresented, so women of colors are even more underrepresented," she said.
With the pandemic, Gill pointed out, they found the burden of childcare and parenting fell significantly on the shoulders of women.
This causes women to pivot, just like everything else.
"Women wanting to come back in the workforce, but coming into roles they weren’t in so they are looking at roles in technology, geospatial and health sciences, as opposed to service industry roles or caregiving," Gill said.
The organization was just given a $250,000 grant from the federal government, with a local match of $250,000, for its Women in Geospatial Careers Program.
Eight organizations, out of 77 applicants, received this funding to support regional industry workforce needs.
This is a way to help more women, especially women of color, get into the field.
Gill said they are able to invest in women while fueling the economy not just in our area, but all over the nation.
"We all know St. Louis is becoming a true hub for geospatial careers, we are going to have to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency site here and lots of companies are locating here. We saw this as a great opportunity to really create a pipeline of talent, a diverse line of talent, so they can hire right here some local talent," Gill said.
Now, this new tool will only strengthen the workforce and the organization's goal to train women for new fields and provide a foundation for their future.
"This occupational segregation for women has been a focus of our work and really hoping to expose women to career pathways where we are traditionally underrepresented," Gill said.
Gill said they are ready to take applicants soon for its third cohort of members in March, which will add on 100 or 150 women.
They are ready to help women get sustaining wages and a lifestyle conducive to families.
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